World Breaking News

Stocks soared after Election Day, propelled by visions of tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks and a government spending boom. And although it’s gratifying for investors to realize generous gains in such a short period of time, retirees are understandably nervous about making up any losses incurred when and if the market heads south. The key for retirees is to establish a portfolio that doesn’t cause anxiety about market fluctuations. Milad Taghehchian, of Pioneer Wealth Management Group, recommends that his clients have six to nine years’ worth of anticipated withdrawals invested conservatively, mostly in short-term and intermediate-term investment-grade bonds, with perhaps a touch of high-yielding junk bonds or emerging-markets debt. With your necessary expenses tucked away, the stock market’s ups and downs should be easier to stomach. Still, an old Wall Street adage rings a bell with many investors these days: No one ever went broke taking profits. The best way to … [Read more...]

If you keep a dozen or more credit card accounts open and have the discipline to avoid carrying a balance, you can rack up a ton of points and miles and redeem them for spectacular trips. Apply for lucrative cards. Chase has some of the most valuable rewards cards, so you’ll probably want to have one in your wallet. The “5/24” rule bars you from opening certain new Chase cards if you have already opened five other credit cards (from any bank) within the past 24 months. Pick a Chase credit card before you apply for other cards. Time it right. Space out your credit card applications to ensure that you can spend enough to comfortably meet the requirement to earn each card’s sign-up bonus. If you’re designating a certain card’s bonus for a trip, apply for the card at least five months in advance so you have enough time to pocket the bonus. A NerdWallet study found that the best time to snag limited-time offers (sometimes 50,000 points in addition to the … [Read more...]

Car payments have morphed from a temporary nuisance into a permanent part of many peopleâs budgets. Whether thatâs a bad thing depends on what you do with the rest of your money. One-third of millennial car buyers chose a lease last year, which helped push auto lease volume to a record of 4.3 million and 31 percent of all new auto purchases, according to market research by Edmunds.com. âThere is a greater percentage of people who view car ownership as a monthly payment like their cellphone or cable or Wi-Fi,â says Jessica Caldwell, executive director of strategic analytics at Edmunds.com. âItâs just the way we live our lives.â Lease payments are typically lower than monthly loan payments for the same car, and leasing is less expensive than buying new cars every two or three years. But leasing is far from frugal, especially compared with paying off a car within five years and owning it for a few more. People who lease donât get a break from payments or build equity … [Read more...]

With as little as $1,000 â or as much as $100,000 â you can help ensure that you wonât run out of money to pay for health care in retirement. With $1,000 Subscription Required An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. You need an online service to view this article in its entirety. Choose an online service. The following services are print only and offer no digital access * Six-month introductory offer for subscribers who are not already part of some discount subscription plan. After six months, each All Access plan will be $19.00 a month regardless of which print delivery is chosen. After three months, the digital only plan will be $21.00 per month. Need an account? Create one now. You must login to view the full content on this page. ........................ ADVERTISEMENT ...................... kAmr@?EC:3FE6 E@ 2 962=E9 D2G:?8D [email protected]?E]k^Am kAmx7 [email protected] 92G6 2? 6=:8:3=6 962=E9 :?DFC2?46 A@=:4J â H:E9 2 565F4E:3=6 @7 2E =62DE … [Read more...]

David Moon, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee 4:00 a.m. ET Feb. 12, 2017
David Moon(Photo: Amy Burgess) In 1990, my friend Carl had a fantastic year in business, earning a then-record bonus of $45,000. He considered several possible uses for the windfall, including a new S-class Mercedes sedan. He eventually gave into responsibility, and put the money into a mutual fund for his 10-year-old son. Focused on raising his family and selling widgets, Carl checked on the mutual fund account only sporadically. When the bear market of 2000 occurred, opening the statement was so depressing that he simply stopped. While doing some estate planning last year, Carl finally took a look at the account he was sure had dwindled to nothing. His original $45,000 investment was worth $306,000. That may seem like a massive return, but it is less than 8 percent annually. Everyone knows that the key to letting compound interest work for you is to start saving and investing early. People forget, however, that … [Read more...]

Advertising firm Interpublic Group of Cos Inc reported a 3.1 percent rise in quarterly revenue on Friday, as businesses in the United States continued to spend more on advertising. FRANKFURT Shareholders in GfK have tendered 14.5 percent of stock in the German market researcher to private equity firm KKR, still short of a minimum threshold only hours before KKR's offer expires, a regulatory filing showed on Friday. FRANKFURT Private equity firm KKR has acquired a stake of 14.1 percent in German research firm GFK , regulatory filings show, as it seeks to fight off rival investor Michael Dell. NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Mary Mazzio first heard about middle-school girls from her hometown of Boston suing a website on which they had been sold for sex, the self-described "recovering lawyer" was blown away. Omnicom Group Inc , the No. 1 U.S. advertising company, reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue due to a strong dollar, following prominent … [Read more...]

Scenario: There's a credit card in your wallet your better half knows nothing about. You got it because you were in a financial jam you didn't feel like 'fessing up to, and to this day the amount of debt you're carrying is, well, a little higher than you'd like it to be. Little white lie? Or financial infidelity? Perhaps a bit of both. Do you have a secret account? becon / Getty Images
An estimated 12 million Americans have hidden a bank or credit card account from a live-in significant other, partner or spouse, according to a new CreditCards.com survey. Baby boomers, the research found, are four times more likely than millennials to have concealed an account. Whatever you think that says about those respective generations, "that's a lot of people who are keeping a secret that could really do a lot of damage both to a couple's finances and to their relationship," says Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com. Focus on the Problem, Not the Symptom What … [Read more...]

Scenario: There's a credit card in your wallet your better half knows nothing about. You got it because you were in a financial jam you didn't feel like 'fessing up to, and to this day the amount of debt you're carrying is, well, a little higher than you'd like it to be. Little white lie? Or financial infidelity? Perhaps a bit of both. Man with credit card becon / Getty Images
An estimated 12 million Americans have hidden a bank or credit card account from a live-in significant other, partner or spouse, according to a new CreditCards.com survey. Baby boomers, the research found, are four times more likely than millennials to have concealed an account. Whatever you think that says about those respective generations, "that's a lot of people who are keeping a secret that could really do a lot of damage both to a couple's finances and to their relationship," says Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com. Focus on the Problem, Not the Symptom What should you do … [Read more...]

Chinese bitcoin exchanges have disabled withdrawals of the cryptocurrency after meeting with the People's Bank of China, indicating the central bank has stepped up its efforts to regulate the market. Throughout January, the PBoC made announcements that it was looking into bitcoin, including setting up a task force to carry out inspections and ensure bitcoin exchanges had implemented anti-money laundering systems. Then on Thursday, the central bank announced it had met with nine exchanges to warn them they would be closed if they violated regulations. This prompted the three main Chinese bitcoin exchanges, BTCC, Houbi and OKCoin to temporarily disable bitcoin withdrawal (users can deposit and withdraw yuan but not bitcoins) for the next 30 days, while they improve their anti-money laundering systems and customer identification measures. The news caused the price for bitcoin to drop sharply on Thursday, from near a one-month high of around $1063 to as low as $954. Bitcoin prices … [Read more...]

Repossessions fell by nearly 25% in 2016 compared to the previous year
Some 7,700 repossessions took place in 2016, down nearly 25 per cent on the 10,200 cases seen in 2015, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said. The annual total was the lowest seen since 6,900 repossessions were recorded in 1982. Repossessions have been generally declining since reaching a recent peak of 48,900 cases in 2009. Ultra-low mortgage rates have been keeping borrowers' mortgage payments relatively affordable. The CML also said the number of mortgages in arrears fell during the course of 2016.
Low mortgage rates have meant that repayments are relatively affordable for homeownersAt the end of last year, there were 94,100 mortgages with arrears of more than 2.5 per cent of the outstanding balance, compared with 101,700 at the end of 2015. But despite the general decline in arrears, there was an increase across 2016 in the number of mortgages in arrears of more than 10 per cent of the outstanding balance, … [Read more...]

The ISA limit for the current tax year is £15,240 but you will no longer be able to use this allowance after April 5 2017. The good news is that savers will be able to save up to £20,000 in ISAs between April 6 2017 and April 5 2018. Former Chancellor George Osborne increased the new tax year’s ISA limit by £5,000 to encourage everyone to save more. “We know people like ISAs – because they are simple,” he said in his 2016 budget speech. "You save out of taxed income; everything you earn on your savings is tax-free; then it’s tax-free when you withdraw it too.” Mr Osborne also announced the creation of the new Lifetime ISA to help young people save for their first home and retirement.
How much can you invest in an ISA next tax year?Deloitte said that the increase to the limit was a “welcome move to encourage savings”, while the Lifetime ISA would support the next generation. It added: “ISAs are seen as more … [Read more...]

The lifetime ISA will be available from April 2017
The new type of savings account, announced in the 2016 Budget, is designed to allow greater flexibility for young savers. Here is a summary of how the lifetime ISA works and who will be able to open an account. What is a lifetime ISA? The savings account is designed to let young people save for their first home or retirement without paying tax on the interest they earn. Savers will also receive a government bonus of 25% on any savings put into their account. For every £4 that savers put in, the government will give them £1. The lifetime ISA will be brought in from the start of the new tax year on April 6 2017. George Osborne announced the lifetime ISA in the 2016 BudgetWho can open a lifetime ISA? Anyone between the ages of 18 and 40 will be able to open a lifetime ISA account. The 25% government bonus will apply to any savings put into the account before the accountholder turns 50. The savings and the bonus can … [Read more...]

Don't miss out: The ISA deadline is at the end of the tax year
When is the ISA deadline? People must add to their tax-free accounts, known as Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), before the deadline at midnight on Tuesday April 5 2017. The date marks the end of the 2016/17 tax year. If savers miss the deadline, they lose their unused allowance for the past year. What is your ISA allowance? Each tax year Britons get an ISA allowance, which is the largest amount that they can save in cash and investment ISAs. The maximum amount that can be saved before the end of the 2016/17 tax year is £15,240. Savings which remain in an ISA year-on-year will continue to reap tax-free benefits until withdrawn from the account.
The ISA deadline is midnight on Tuesday April 5 2017How much is the next ISA allowance? The annual ISA limit is set to rise to £20,000 from April 2017. From April 6, anyone who has an ISA or opens an ISA has a year to save up to this amount before April 5 … [Read more...]

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) allow savers to protect their money from dividend, income and capital gains tax. This tax year (2016/17) the maximum ISA allowance is £15,240, rising to £20,000 in 2017/18. Savers have until April 5 to make the most of their allowance, which can be invested in a cash ISA, stocks and shares ISA, or a combination of both. The ISA limit is £15,240From the new tax year you will also be able to invest some or all of your allowance in a new peer-to-peer loan called an Innovative Finance ISA. But what happens if you go over the ISA limit? Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your savings. What happens if I've paid too much into my ISA? If you accidentally go over the ISA limit in any tax year then you will be automatically refunded the difference. HM Revenue & Customs will get in touch after the end of the tax year with instructions, so do not try to fix the mistake yourself. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE AN ISA DO YOU GET 2 … [Read more...]

The ISA deadline is April 5
An Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a tax-free shelter which protects your money from dividend, income and capital gains tax. Savers can invest up to £15,240 in an ISA in the current 2016/17 tax year, which ends on April 5. You can use your whole allowance towards a cash ISA, stocks and shares ISA, or a combination of both. From April 6 2017, you will also be able to invest some or all of your allowance in an Innovative Finance ISA – essentially a peer-to-peer loan. But how does it work if you already have an ISA? Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your savings.
If you already have an ISA do you get two allowances each year? Savers are allowed to keep open as many existing ISAs as they like, but can only open and pay into one cash ISA and one stocks and shares ISA per tax year. Whichever you decide to deposit into, you will only get one allowance – £15,240 for the current tax year. You can invest the full amount in a … [Read more...]

In International Living's Annual Global Retirement Index 2017, we ranked and rated the 24 best retirement havens in the world. You can stretch your dollars in any of them and live better than you can back home—for less. And while all of these destinations are affordable, we have found the most cost-effective havens from the results of the "Cost of Living" category in the Index. The category evaluates things like day-to-day expenses to the cost of a flight back to the U.S. to visit the folks or grandkids… Groceries, movie theater tickets, eating out, garbage collection, gas, gym membership, and all the hidden and often unconsidered costs—like traveling around your new home and exploring neighboring towns. After all you're there to have fun. Below are the top five retirement destinations for an affordable cost of living. If there is one thing that expats in the Kingdom of Cambodia are most likely to agree on it's that this country offers an affordable cost of living … [Read more...]

Time is running out to make the most of this year's ISA allowance
Up to £15,240 can be held in an Individual Savings Account (ISA) in the current tax year, which ends on April 5. Unused limits can't be carried over to the following year, so it's a case of use it or lose it. Amid ultra low interest rates and rising inflation, more savers are turning to so-called stocks and shares ISAs - which can hold a range of investments - over the cash equivalent. Keeping assets inside the tax-free wrapper, mean that payments from shares are protected from dividend, income and capital gains tax. Taking the first steps into investing can be daunting, but can pay off, as savings rates continue to languish.
Investors should watch out for basic investment mistakesA lump sum of £15,000 invested in the FTSE All Share index from 2006 until 2016 would be worth £25,769 - whereas the average savings account would have returned just £15,844 over the same time period, according to … [Read more...]

The inheritance tax is set to swallow more of the nation's wealth
Many face bills of tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds with the hated “death tax” charged at a swingeing 40 per cent. The number of estates paying inheritance tax (IHT) leapt by 15 per cent in the last year alone and has almost doubled in the last eight years.
Around 30,000 families face an IHT bill in the 2016/17 tax year, up from 26,000 one year earlier. In 2008/09 the figure stood at just 16,000, according to private client law firm Wilsons, which has crunched HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) data. The IHT threshold, or nilrate band, has been frozen at £325,000 since 2009 and will be held there until at least 2019.
The number of estates paying inheritance tax (IHT) went up 15 per cent in the last year aloneTim Fullerlove, partner at Wilsons, said the Government will be reluctant to ease the tax burden as IHT now makes up a growing proportion of revenue.
This means even more families will … [Read more...]

Americans families residing in a foreign country can take advantage of some tax planning gems this season. Just like those living stateside, citizens abroad need to file by April 18. They get an automatic extension to June 15, but any taxes due must be paid by the April date. While living overseas comes with extra requirements — namely, reporting your foreign accounts to the Internal Revenue Service — accountants point out that there are also opportunities for filers. "The availability of the child tax credit is a surprise to many taxpayers who live abroad and have kids," said Joshua Ashman, a certified public accountant at Expat Tax Professionals in New York. "Many people are surprised that they're eligible for a refundable tax credit." Just as in the United States, parents are eligible for the child tax credit. Be aware that similar rules apply: You must support your child, and he or she must live at home with you. The planning quirk for American parents abroad is that … [Read more...]

"Good Morning America" went behind-the-scenes for the making of Hyundai's emotional Super Bowl commercial this year. The automaker's ad virtually reunites U.S. troops overseas with their families who were at the big game in Houston. The commercial was shot in a suite at Super Bowl LI and at an undisclosed overseas military base where Hyundai built "360-degree immersive pods," which "allowed the soldiers to feel as though they were in the stadium," the company said in a statement. The ad was directed by Peter Berg, who told "GMA" today that when he first heard about the idea, his reaction was "that we would never do it, that it was crazy." "I'm like, 'Yeah, OK, sure this is a great idea, you know, this is Hollywood dreaming at its finest,'" Berg said. He credited working with an all-star team for helping this "crazy" idea come into fruition. "The NFL was really cooperative and the Department of Defense was cooperative, and you know Hyundai's just extraordinarily gracious and … [Read more...]